Department for Work and Pensions

Asbestos

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what regulations apply to asbestos in buildings; when such regulations are laid; and for what duration those regulations are in force.

Justin Tomlinson: Use of any asbestos in new buildings was prohibited in Great Britain by 1999 following earlier national prohibitions of the highest risk types in 1985 and 1992. The current prohibitions are now via the European Union’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation 2006. In respect of legacy asbestos present in older buildings the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 regulation 4 came into force on 21 May 2004. This regulation was then superseded by the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR) laid on 5 March 2012. CAR Regulation 4 requires the owner, or person responsible for maintenance (the ‘duty holder’) of a non-domestic building to record the location and condition of any asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) and to put into place a plan to manage the risk they present. The record of the location and condition of any ACMs, and management plan, must be available for as long as ACMs are present in the building.

Oil Rigs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training standards are required for workers on North Sea oil rigs prior to their deployment on these oil rigs.

Justin Tomlinson: In respect of health and safety matters the law is goal setting, requiring workers to be provided with information, instruction and training necessary to ensure they are able to undertake their work safely. With respect to work offshore, the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organization (UK) has developed a wide range of training courses and standards that include safety information. HSE is an observer to the OPITO board. Two particular standards, the Minimum Industry Safety Training (MIST) and Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (BOSIET) courses cover the general safety knowledge required by all employees before working offshore in the oil and gas industry.

Social Security Benefits: Hidradenitis Suppurativa

Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training is provided to people who carry out assessments for employment and support allowance or personal independence payment on sufferers of hidradenitis suppurativa.

Priti Patel: All healthcare professionals who carry out either Work Capability Assessments or Personal Independence Payment assessments undergo broad and thorough training in disability analysis, as well as training in specific conditions, including progressive conditions. Centre for Health and Disability Assessments, Atos Healthcare and Capita are required to conform to a rigorous set of quality and recruitment standards which are closely monitored by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Personal Independence Payment

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what targets he has set for the time taken to process new applications for personal independence payment.

Justin Tomlinson: The current commitment is that no one should wait more than 16 weeks for an assessment for Personal Independence Payment. The latest figures show that significant progress has been made over the past year. Claims are now being cleared at five times the rate they were in January 2014. The average new claimant now only waits seven weeks for an assessment. We are committed to building on this progress and achieving further reductions in claimant waiting times wherever practical.

Personal Independence Payment

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people claiming disability living allowance who will cease to receive disability benefits after being assessed for personal independence payment in each month from July 2015 to July 2016.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people his Department will assess for personal independence payment in each month from July 2015 to July 2016.

Justin Tomlinson: Such estimates as are available have been published and can be found at; https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/180964/pip-reassessments-and-impacts.pdf Table one shows the number of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) new claims and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) reassessments that the Department is expecting in each quarter to 2018. Tables two shows that we expect 30% of DLA reassessment claims (made in advance of October 2015) to not be awarded PIP following assessment. Table six shows this figure is expected to reduce to 26% following assessment of all DLA reassessment claims by May 2018.

Housing Benefit: Young People

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost was of housing benefit for 18 to 21 year olds who were (a) employed, (b) unemployed and (c) inactive in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.

Justin Tomlinson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 4 June 2015 to Question 239.

Housing Benefit: Young People

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average duration was of housing benefit claims by 18 to 21 year olds who were (a) employed, (b) unemployed and (c) inactive in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.

Justin Tomlinson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 3 June 2015 to Question UIN 240.

Social Security Benefits: Mental Illness

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many combined employment and support allowance and personal independence payment claimants with mental ill health have had their application undergo a mandatory reconsideration since October 2013.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average clearing time is of employment and support allowance mandatory reconsideration appeals in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the UK in the last 12 months.

Priti Patel: The Information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Children: Poverty

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of children living in poverty in each ward of Warrington North constituency.

Priti Patel: The Household Below Average Income (HBAI) publication, which provides the national estimates of child poverty as defined by the Child Poverty Act 2010, cannot be broken down below the level of region, due to sample size and coverage issues.

Housing Benefit: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many 18-21 year olds who (a) are care leavers, (b) have young children and (c) are in employment he has estimated would no longer receive housing benefit under the Government's proposals to restrict access for that age group.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many young people he has estimated will no longer receive housing benefit under the Government's proposals to restrict access for that age group to that benefit.

Justin Tomlinson: We will set out our policy design in due course. As we develop the detailed policy we will ensure that those in need of support for their housing needs continue to receive it while ensuring the overall system is fair to the taxpayer, maintains work incentives and is not more generous to unemployed young people than to those working or studying to improve their prospects.

Unemployment Benefits: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many 18-21 year olds he has estimated would be affected by plans to replace out-of-work benefits for that age group with a youth allowance.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many young people under the Government's proposals for a youth allowance he has estimated will be expected to undertake community work from the commencement of an employment and support allowance claim.

Priti Patel: The detailed policy design of the Youth Allowance is still being developed. The information is therefore not yet available.

Housing Benefit: Southwark

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in the London Borough of Southwark are currently receiving discretionary housing payment.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department does not hold information regarding the number of households who currently claim Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) in Local Authorities. In June last year the Department released a publication detailing Local Authorities use of DHP in 2013/14, which included the number of awards made. The information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/discretionary-housing-payments/statistics

Housing Benefit: Southwark

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households are currently claiming housing benefit in the London Borough of Southwark.

Justin Tomlinson: The information requested is published can be found at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started---SuperWEB2.html

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 24 March 2015 to Question 228133, how much has been claimed in hardship payments in each of the last 12 months.

Priti Patel: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will publish figures on the number of hardship applications and awards in the summer of 2015.

Social Security

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he will announce details of how his Department will reduce spending on social security by £12 billion by 2017-18.

Justin Tomlinson: The Government’s commitment to save £12bn from welfare spending was set out in its election manifesto. Further details will be given in due course.

Social Security Benefits

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the effect on the number of families living in temporary accommodation of reducing the benefit cap from £26,000 to £23,000 per year.

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the number of people who are in receipt of (a) employment and support allowance (ESA), (b) the work related activity component of ESA, (c) jobseekers allowance and (d) income support who will be affected by reducing the benefit cap from £26,000 to £23,000 per year.

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the number of people who have a child aged under (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four and (e) five who will be affected by reducing the benefit cap from £26,000 to £23,000 per year.

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the number of people in temporary accommodation who will be affected by reducing the benefit cap from £26,000 to £23,000 per year.

Justin Tomlinson: We will publish a full Impact Assessment in due course.

Statutory Sick Pay

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of changes in employment retention levels since changes to the percentage threshold scheme for statutory sick pay were introduced on 6 April 2014.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department for Work and Pensions has not undertaken a formal assessment of changes in employment retention levels since changes to the percentage threshold scheme for statutory sick pay were introduced on 6 April 2014. The Impact Assessment supporting this change reflects that the removal of the scheme will not precipitate illegal discrimination by employers against employees with poor sickness records. If employees should suffer such discrimination then there are legal protections in place.

Local Housing Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to continue the Targeted Affordability Fund beyond financial year 2015-16.

Justin Tomlinson: We have already made available a total of £140 million in Targeted Affordability Funding during 2014/15 and 2015/16. We will advise of any further plans for Targeted Affordability Funding in due course.

Employment and Support Allowance: Young People

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is his policy that the proposed legislation requiring young people to earn or learn will extend to existing claimants of employment and support allowance under the age of 21.

Priti Patel: We will set out our policy design in due course.

Home Office

Detention Centres: Scotland

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have left the employment of immigration centres in Scotland in each year since 2006; and for what reasons those people have left that employment.

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was spent on training for (a) staff and (b) detainees in immigration removal centres in Scotland in each year since 2006.

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reported (a) incidents, (b) assaults and (c) serious assaults there were on staff in immigration removal centres in Scotland in each year since 2006.

James Brokenshire: Dungavel is the only immigration removal centre in Scotland. This question has been interpreted as relating to both Home Office and service provider staff. Information on the number of staff leaving the Home Office and service providers’ employment since 2006 is not held centrally. The reasons for leaving could only be provided by examination of individual records at disproportionate cost. Information on the amount of money spent on Home Office and service providers’ staff training and training provided to detainees since 2006 is not held centrally. Information is held in relation to incidents. There were no reported incidents for Home Office staff. The table below relates to health and safety incidents involving service provider staff. Major incidents are those that are reportable to the Health and Safety Executive. Management information is only available from 2009 in the following table.



Management information 
(Word Document, 11.05 KB)

Immigrants: Detainees

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been detained in immigration removal centres in Scotland in each year since 2006; and what the capacity of such centres was in each of those years.

James Brokenshire: Dungavel House in Strathaven, Lanarkshire is the sole immigration removal centre (IRC) located in Scotland.The table below shows the number of people entering detention solely under Immigration Act powers at Dungavel House IRC from 2009 to 2014:Year Detainees2009 1,6612010 1,4322011 1,4812012 1,4312013 1,6262014 1,297Some detainees may be recorded more than once if, for example, the person has been detained on more than one occasion in the time period shown, such as a person who has left detention, but has subsequently been re-detained. Information on people entering detention prior to 2009 is unavailable.The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of people detained in the United Kingdom for immigration purposes, within the Immigration Statistics release. Data relating to people entering detention are available in tables dt_01 and dt_01_q in Immigration Statistics: January – March 2015 on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release and which will be placed in the Library of the House. Occupancy statistics were not collected by the Home Office before 2009 and figures prior to this are unavailable.The following table shows the capacity of Dungavel House IRC from 2006 to 2015:Year Capacity2006 1882007 1882008 1882009 1902010 2172011 2172012 2172013 2172014 2492015 249The information provided in relation to capacity is based on management information only and has not been subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics publications. These figures are provisional and are subject to change.

Immigrants: Detainees

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many detainees in immigration removal centres in Scotland have taken their own life since 2006.

James Brokenshire: Dungavel House is the only immigration removal centre in Scotland. There have been no self inflicted deaths at the centre since 2006.

Visas

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received on reinstatement of the Tier 1 visa route.

James Brokenshire: Tier 1 of the Points Based System provides for the admission of high value migrants who are leaders in their field or who will make an economic contribution though investment and business formation. It currently comprises the Exceptional Talent, Investor, Entrepreneur and Graduate Entrepreneur categories.The Tier 1 (General) category was closed in 2011 and the Tier 1 (Post Study Work) category was closed in 2012. Both categories were closed in order to ensure that Tier 1 is not used by those who intend to undertake lower skilled work. The department has received various representations on these categories both in support of the closures and calling for greater provisions, including recent reports produced by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Migration in February 2015 and the Post Study Working Group established by the Scottish Government in March 2015.

Drugs: Young People

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to raise awareness of the dangers of legal highs amongst young people.

Mike Penning: To increase awareness of the risks of new psychoactive substances (NPS), the Government recently introduced the Psychoactive Substances Bill, which will bring in a blanket ban of NPS by prohibiting and disrupting production, distribution, sale and supply in the UK. The Bill will give police and other law enforcement agencies greater powers to tackle the trade in NPS, targeting suppliers who profit from their sale with complete disregard for the potential risks and consequences. As the Bill passes through parliament there will be various communication and media opportunities to raise awareness of the dangers of NPS.There is a wide-ranging cross-Government programme of work in place to tackle new psychoactive substances (NPS), including activity to raise awareness and tackle use amongst young people. For example, we have:• in March 2015, published a resource pack, written in partnership with front line practitioners, to enable those working with young people to have conversations with NPS users and challenge their drug use by raising awareness of the risks and consequences.• delivered a new online resilience building resource, ‘Rise Above’, aimed at 11 to 16-year-olds, which provides resources to help develop skills to make positive choices for their health, including avoiding drug use.• continued to update FRANK, the Government’s drugs information and advice service, to reflect new and emerging patterns of drug use and evolve to remain in line with young people’s media habits.• the Home Office Forensic Early Warning System (FEWS) was set up in January 2011 to bolster national capacity to identify new psychoactive substances (NPS) available in the UK. It brings together expertise from forensic laboratories and chemical standard suppliers, UK-wide law enforcement agencies and experts in the field. FEWS continues to enable us to effectively assess the availability of NPS and take appropriate action.• every year since 2009, Ministers have written to approximately 50 music festival organisers highlighting NPS dangers and calling on them to adopt a ‘no-legal highs’ policy for their festivals.

Drugs

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects to being forward legislation to ban the sale of so-called legal highs; and if she will make a statement.

Mike Penning: The Government introduced the Psychoactive Substances Bill in the House of Lords on 28 May. The Bill will make it a criminal offence to produce, supply, offer to supply, possess with intent to supply, import and export psychoactive substances. The blanket ban will give police and other law enforcement agencies greater powers to tackle the reckless trade in psychoactive substances.

Department of Health

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many non-UK nationals accessed NHS services in England in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14; how many such nationals were charged for those services in each of those years; and how much revenue the NHS raised from those charges in each of those years.

Alistair Burt: The Department does not hold this information.

Lung Diseases: Transplant Surgery

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to improve the matching of donated lungs with people waiting for lung transplants.

Jane Ellison: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) in collaboration with clinicians, organ advisory groups and other interested parties, is in the process of reviewing the current lung allocation process.   This review will consider proposals for a national lung allocation scheme and the processes and systems needed to implement this.   NHSBT continues to work closely with clinicians to ensure donated organs are used for transplantation wherever appropriate.

Brain Tumours: Radiotherapy

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which hospitals in England have used stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) to treat both benign and malignant tumours of the brain; which of those hospitals have contracts with NHS England to deliver SRS; and which non-contracted hospitals have received payment from NHS England for delivering SRS since 1 April 2013.

Jane Ellison: The following hospitals were contracted NHS England providers of stereotactic radiotherapy and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in 2013-14:   - Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge; - Bupa Cromwell, London; - Derriford Hospital, Plymouth; - Mount Vernon Hospital, Middlesex; - Nova Healthcare/Leeds Teaching Hospitals; - Sheffield Teaching Hospitals; - Royal Preston Hospital, Lancashire; - Salford Royal Hospital, Salford/The Christie, Manchester; - St Bartholomew Hospital, London; - Thornbury Gamma Knife® Centre, Sheffield; - The Walton Centre, Liverpool/Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology, Wirral; - University Hospital Birmingham; and - University Hospital Bristol.   In early 2013-14, during the transition period associated with setting up the new commissioning arrangements, NHS England paid for SRS activity from two non-contracted providers: Queens Square Radiotherapy Centre Ltd and the Thornbury Radiosurgery Centre Ltd. However, during 2013 the Thornbury Centre became a contracted provider.

Health Professions: Prescriptions

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on allowing physician associates to independently prescribe in the NHS.

Ben Gummer: The Department recognises and values the contribution of physician associates working in the National Health Service. Expanding the roles of experienced and qualified health professionals is enabling the NHS to make better use of staff’s skills. The flexible use of any staff group will be explored in conjunction with NHS England.

Health Professions

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the number of physician associates employed in the NHS in (a) Hertfordshire and (b) England.

Ben Gummer: This information is not held centrally by the Department.   As at 3 June 2015, there are 152 qualified physician associates (PAs) registered on the Physician Associate Voluntary Register. This voluntary register does not provide information on whether any of these PAs are currently employed in the National Health Service.   For 2015-16, Health Education England will commission 205 PA training posts, representing an increase of 754% upon last year. With a two year training programme, successful trainees will become available for employment in 2017-18.

Health Professions: Regulation

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on the statutory regulation of physician associates; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer: The Government supports the current policy that the extension of statutory regulation to unregulated groups (such as physician associates) will only be considered where there is a compelling case on the basis of public safety and where voluntary registers accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care are not considered sufficient to manage this risk.

Paediatrics

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve the diagnosis process and reduce the time taken of children going through paediatric care pathways.

Jane Ellison: This Government is committed to improving health outcomes for children and young people, and there is a wide range of ongoing activity to improve the responsiveness of the National Health Service in the diagnosis and treatment of children on care pathways. This includes support for the development by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health of Paediatric Care Online, a resource for the clinical workforce across the full range of children’s health issues. This will be launched later in 2015 and is expected to make a real improvement to the consistency and effectiveness of paediatric care.   In addition the Government is committed to improving access to psychological therapies (IAPT) for children and young people. The new waiting standards for Early Intervention in Psychosis (so that 50% of people who experience first time psychosis receive a National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved care package within two weeks) came into effect on 1 April 2015 and NHS England is aiming to expand the children and young people’s IAPT programme to cover the whole country by 2018.   NHS England is looking at the impact on cancer outcomes of early diagnosis projects, and is working on the early diagnosis of sepsis, and detection of the deteriorating child. In addition NHS England has a very active and appropriately scrutinised process for the governance surrounding Paediatric Specialist Services.

Radiation: Health Hazards

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will undertake research into medical conditions in young people arising from radiation emitted by wi-fi units, mobile phones and other wireless devices; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England (PHE) advises the Government on all aspects of public health, including exposure to radio waves. The advice covers the appropriate standards of protection for the general population. Central to PHE advice is that exposures to radio waves should comply with the guidelines published by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). ICNIRP is formally recognised by the World Health Organization.   PHE routinely reviews the research into the effects of radiofrequencies on health including the effects on young people. The most recent PHE-backed review was undertaken by its own independent expert Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR) and published at the end of April 2012. The AGNIR report considered whether there was evidence for health effects occurring in relation to exposures below the ICNIRP levels. The overall conclusion was that, “although a substantial amount of research has been conducted in this area, there is no convincing evidence that radio wave exposures below guideline levels cause health effects in either adults or children.” PHE constantly reviews emerging research for any changes to the conclusions of this report.   In addition, the Department is supporting a research programme into the use of mobile phones by young people and PHE is participating in international studies on children’s health and radiowaves.

General Practitioners: Per Capita Costs

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent estimate he has made of the daily cost of a (a) locum and (b) family GP.

Alistair Burt: The requested information is not collected centrally.   General practitioners (GPs) are independent contractors who provide primary medical services on behalf of the National Health Service. Provided they meet the terms of their contract, they are free to make their own decisions regarding remuneration and practice expenditure.   As independent businesses, it is also the responsibility of individual GP practices to employ locum GPs to meet their needs, and to decide whether the rate at which they are able to secure a locum represents good value for money.

Skin: Diseases

Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the treatment of hidradenitis suppurativa cost the NHS in England in (a) 2012, (b) 2013 and (c) 2014.

Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support patients with hidradenitis suppurativa.

Jane Ellison: Hidradenitis suppurative (HS) affects around 90,000 people in England and can usually be managed with treatments including antibiotics, antiseptic washes and immunosuppressive treatments such as steroids or ciclosporin.   For those patients with the most serious forms of HS who cannot be managed through routine access treatments provided through primary or secondary care, a referral to a specialised dermatology service may be appropriate. NHS England commissions services for people with rare and complex skin conditions and has set out what providers must have in place in order to offer specialist dermatology care. These services may provide more intensive therapies with a involvement of a range of health and care professionals, subject to that patient’s needs. More information can be found at the following link:   www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/a12-spec-dermatology.pdf   The Department does not hold data on spending on individual dermatological conditions. However, the latest NHS Programme Budgeting data, which is for 2012-13, shows that the total spend on dermatology (excluding burns) was £1.98 billion.

Patients: Surveys

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the most recent findings from the Care Quality Commission Inpatient Survey.

Ben Gummer: Listening to patient feedback and acting on it is a vital way for the National Health Service to improve the quality of care it provides. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) Inpatient Survey is one way patients can give feedback to the NHS and complements the Friends and Family Test which collects feedback from patients in real-time.   The findings from the CQC Inpatient Survey show that patient experience in hospital remains positive, with 84% of patients rating their experience with a score of seven or more out of ten compared with 81% in 2012. However, we know there is more to do. That is why we are transforming the way we deliver care in the community and through general practitioners, and working with staff to create a safe, open, compassionate, patient-centred culture throughout the NHS.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham: Accident and Emergency Departments

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time at the Accident and Emergency Unit of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital was in each year since 2010.

Jane Ellison: Information is not available in the format requested.   Information on the mean and median duration to (i) assessment, (ii) treatment and (iii) departure, in minutes, in the accident and emergency (A&E) department for University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust for each year since 2009-10 is shown in the attached table. 



University Hospital Birmingham FT 2009-10 A&E Data
(Excel SpreadSheet, 27.25 KB)

Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham: Accident and Emergency Departments

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of accident and emergency services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

Jane Ellison: Latest data for week ending 31 May 2015 showed that University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust met the operational standard of at least 95% of patients being admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of arrival at an accident and emergency department, with performance at 95.8%. In 2014/15 as a whole 94.8% of patients were admitted, treated or discharged within four hours.

Mental Health Services: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to review mental health provision in the West Midlands; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to make additional resources available for mental health services in the West Midlands over the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: This is a matter for the National Health Service locally. NHS England advises that Coventry and Rugby Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), is working along with South Warwickshire CCG, Warwickshire North CCG, Coventry City Council and Warwickshire County Council, on a joint review of the specifications for children and adolescent mental health services.   In the current financial year Coventry and Rugby CCG will put an additional £1.2 million towards the mental health services it commissions.

Infectious Diseases: Disease Control

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to make additional funding available to tackle drug-resistant infections over the next five years.

Jane Ellison: The health and care system across the United Kingdom is taking action against the growing threat of infections that are resistant to the antimicrobial drugs used to treat them.   In December 2014, we published the UK Five Year AMR Strategy detailed implementation plan. The plan set out those activities that needed to be undertaken to deliver the strategy in each of seven key areas for action. Activity in the plan is led by the Department of Health, Public Health England, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and NHS England and is incorporated within existing business plans for those organisations.   The Government has no current plans to make additional funding available to tackle drug-resistant infections. Any proposals for funding would be subject to the outcome of the Spending Review later this year.

Infectious Diseases

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of drug-resistant infections (a) in the West Midlands and (b) nationally in the next five years.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England (PHE) has published no estimates for the number of drug-resistant infections in the West Midlands or nationally over the next five years. The science of drug resistant infections is incompletely understood and is rapidly changing and evolving. Multi-drug resistant infections are unpredictable in their occurrence and can rapidly change. For these reasons producing estimates of the likely burden in future years is unlikely to be meaningful or robust.   Antimicrobial resistance is a priority for PHE who are working to improve surveillance and knowledge in this area. Specific antimicrobial resistant infections have been measured by PHE and openly published in weekly Health Protection Reports.

Tobacco: Packaging

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what preparations his Department is making for the commencement of the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 on 20 May 2016.

Jane Ellison: Guidance will be made available to local authority trading standards officers, or in the case of Northern Ireland, environmental health officers. It will be developed with the relevant bodies responsible and made publically available before the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 come into force.

Motor Vehicles: Smoking

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what preparations his Department is making for the commencement of the Smoke-free (Private Vehicles) Regulations 2015 on 1 October 2015.

Jane Ellison: There will be a communications campaign to raise awareness of the Smoke-free (Private Vehicles) Regulations 2015 in advance of them coming into force on 1 October. Guidance and training materials are currently being developed and will be available for the police and local authority enforcement officers. Information will be available for local authorities so that they can work locally to help build compliance and raise awareness.

Cervical Cancer: Health Education

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health of 1 May 2014, Official Report, column 1052, on cervical cancer screening, whether Ministers in his Department hosted a special day in Parliament on the take-up of cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccinations.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health of 1 May 2014, Official Report, column 1052, on cervical cancer screening, what steps his Department has taken to modernise the NHS cervical cancer screening programme; what progress has been made by Public Health England on addressing low coverage of cervical cancer screening in certain areas and working on local action plans to improve such coverage; and what work his Department has carried out with employers to encourage them to make it clear to young women that they will facilitate them taking time off for cervical cancer screening.

Jane Ellison: As I said in the debate on 1 May 2014, Official Report, column 1052, if hon. and Rt. hon. Members indicated that they would want to initiate a Parliamentary event on cervical screening and the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination, I would be happy to support it. Although, to date, I have received no specific representations from any hon. or Rt. hon. Members, I remain happy to support such an event.   In April 2012 the UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC) gave its support for a pilot to assess the value of using HPV testing as primary screening (HPV TaPS) for cervical disease, rather than the currently used cytology test. The pilot is establishing the feasibility of using HPV testing as the primary screen for cervical disease in order to achieve better outcomes for women, while minimising over-treatment and anxiety, and whether it is practical to roll out nationally. The UK NSC will open a public consultation shortly on whether HPV TaPS for cervical disease should replace the currently used cytology test.   Public Health England (PHE) continues to work with NHS England via the Public Health Section 7A agreement to develop a system of performance improvement through the use of performance floors, and strengthened governance for screening. The aims of the performance floors are:  - Improving performance and equity of service over time by reducing the range of variation at a local level. - Enabling easy identification of poor performance and the setting of objectives and plans for local action, to reduce variation and improve performance.   PHE will look at research provided by the STRATEGIC study (Strategies to increase cervical screening uptake at first invitation) to identify methods to help increase uptake among women. The STRATEGIC study will be publishing findings in May 2016, more details of this can be found at:   http://www.nets.nihr.ac.uk/projects/hta/0916401   The Responsibility Deal Health at Work Network has worked with employers to develop the Staff Health Checks pledge, which encourages eligible employees to participate in NHS Health, and other NHS screening programmes. 160 employers have signed up to this pledge.

Hidradenitis Suppurativa: Health Education

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of hidradenitis suppurativa.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people with hidradenitis suppurativa in the UK; how much his Department has spent on research into hidradenitis suppurativa in the last four years; and what guidance his Department gives on support to be given through the NHS for people with hidradenitis suppurativa.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the care pathways for patients with hidradenitis suppurativa.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to provide information to surgeons, dermatologists and general practitioners about hidradenitis suppurativa.

Jane Ellison: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) affects around 90,000 people in England. The Department’s National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network (CRN) is providing research infrastructure to enable molecular genetic analysis of HS, although expenditure on this cannot be disaggregated from total CRN spend.  Information on the diagnosis, treatment care and support of patients with HS can be found on the NHS Choices website. This also provides links to the British Association of Dermatologists, which has produced a patient information leaflet on HS, and the HS Trust, which is the United Kingdom‘s leading charity for the condition. More information can be found at the following link:  www.nhs.uk/conditions/hidradenitis-suppurativa/Pages/Introduction.aspx  In terms of the care pathway for the condition, HS can usually be managed with treatments including antibiotics, antiseptic washes and immunosuppressive treatments such as steroids or ciclosporin, which a general practitioner may prescribe. For those patients with the most serious forms of HS who cannot be managed through routine access to treatments provided through primary or secondary care, a referral to a specialised dermatology service may be appropriate. NHS England commissions services for people with rare and complex skin conditions and has set out what providers must have in place in order to offer specialist dermatology care. These services may provide more intensive therapies with the involvement of a range of health and care professionals, subject to a patient’s needs. More information can be found at the following link:   www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/a12-spec-dermatology.pdf

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Employment Tribunals Service: Fines

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many financial penalties have been imposed on respondent employers under section 16 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 to date; and how many such penalties (a) have been paid and (b) remain unpaid.

Nick Boles: Financial Penalties for aggravated breach of employment law, under section 16 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, were introduced on 6 April 2014. Financial penalties are intended to be used in exceptional circumstances where employers have deliberately flouted the law, and whose behaviour is malicious or negligent. Three have been imposed to date. One has been paid. The other two are currently unpaid.

Apprentices

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many retail and commercial enterprise apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many health, public service and care apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many engineering and manufacturing technologies apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many education and training apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many construction, planning and the built environment apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many business, administration and law apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many arts, media and publishing apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many agriculture, horticulture and animal care apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many leisure, travel and tourism apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many information and communication technology apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Boles: As the requested information is large, I have attached an additional document detailing apprenticeship achievements for each Sector Subject Area by Region and Level for academic years 2005/06 to 2014/15 provisional in-year estimates.The Department does not collect further education information relating to the devolved administrations.



Apprenticeship achievements statistics
(Excel SpreadSheet, 86 KB)

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of research commissioned by the European Commission into the economic effect of the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

Anna Soubry: The Government supports the Commission’s research. The UK adopted a similar approach when commissioning research for the potential impact on the UK. We also support the additional work that is underway for the Commission such as the Sustainability Impact Assessment. Whilst the trade models used by the Commission, ourselves and others have their limitations they are generally considered to be the most robust tools to examine the economic effects of trade agreements.

ICT: Further Education

Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many students at further education colleges in the UK are studying (a) computer science and (b) video game courses.

Nick Boles: Detailed information regarding the number of enrolments on further education courses is provided online in the National Aims report: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/378266/feandskills-national-aims-report-1314.xls   The report contains information for all courses that have at least 100 enrolments in a year.

ICT: Higher Education

Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many students at UK universities are studying (a) computer science degrees, (b) computer science masters degrees, (c) video games degrees and (d) video games masters degrees.

Joseph Johnson: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on students enrolled at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The numbers of full-person equivalent enrolments studying Computer Science and ‘Games’ subjects at UK HEIs in the academic year 2013/14 are provided in the table.   Information on enrolments at UK HEIs for the academic year 2014/15 will become available from HESA in January 2016.   Full-person equivalent (1) Computer Science enrolments (2) by level of study UK Higher Education Institutions Academic year 2013/14   Subject of studyFirst DegreeMastersAll levels of study (3)Computer Science69,81511,61091,565...of which 'Games' (4)3,260803,515   Source: HESA Student Record 2013/14 Notes: (1) Subject level counts are shown in terms of Full Person Equivalents (FPEs). FPEs are derived by apportioning each student between the different subjects that made up their course. (2) Enrolments refer to students in all years of study (3) All levels of study include Higher Education qualifications at both sub-degree and postgraduate research level. (4) Courses categorised as ‘Games’ include the studies of computer game programming, design, graphics, generated visual & audio effects, and imagery.

Ministry of Defence

Arms Control: USA

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what reports have been prepared in the last 12 months on joint US-UK technical co-operation on nuclear arms control; and what circulation has been arranged for each such report.

Mr Philip Dunne: A joint US-UK report on technical co-operation on nuclear arms control was issued during a co-sponsored event on 11 May 2015 during the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in New York. The report was published by the US on the US Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration website on 12 May 2015. A copy of the report can be found through the following link:http://nnsa.energy.gov/sites/default/files/Joint_USUK_Report_FINAL.PDF

Arms Control: USA

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information the Atomic Weapons Establishment has received from Brookhaven National Laboratory under the 1958 US-UK Mutual Defense Agreement on atomic energy matters on the Controlled Intrusiveness Verification Technology  measurement system since January 2007.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Atomic Weapons Establishment received one briefing on the Controlled Intrusiveness Verification Technology (CIVET) from Brookhaven National Laboratories on 16 April 2007 in the US. This briefing was part of the ongoing technical co-operation for arms control between the US and UK to develop and evaluate methodologies and technologies to verify potential nuclear weapon treaties.

Submarines: Irish Sea

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has held with NATO and the EU on the effect of submarine activity on fishing in the Irish Sea in April 2015.

Penny Mordaunt: There have been no such discussions between the Secretary of State and other Ministers with NATO and the EU, nor have there been such discussions at official level. The Royal Navy takes this issue particularly seriously and has a Fishery Liaison Officer to provide a central point of contact with the UK Fishing Industry, as well as regular consultation with fishermen's associations, training for personnel, and strict rules and procedures on reporting any incidents that might occur.

Minesweepers

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Autonomous Minesweeping Capability will achieve (a) initial and (b) full operational capability; what the total cost of the programme is; and where the assets developed will be permanently based.

Mr Philip Dunne: The current contract is for a single prototype system and valued at £13 Million. If successful, this system will be converted for operational use and further systems may be procured with associated Hunt Class modifications.The dates for Initial and Full Operating Capability have not yet been determined and are subject to a Main Gate investment decision, which is expected in 2019. The permanent base for this equipment will be Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth, which is where the Hunt Class Mine Countermeasures Vessels are currently based.

Minesweepers

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will estimate the proportion of the value of the UK Ministry of Defence Autonomous Minesweeping Capability contract that will go to (a) Atlas Elektronik (b) BAE systems and (c) Babcock.

Mr Philip Dunne: The contract for the autonomous minesweeping capability was placed with Atlas Elektronik UK on 26 February 2015. The value of the contract is £13 million. BAE Systems and Babcock Marine are subcontractors to Atlas Elektronik UK. The proportion of the value of this contract that will go to Atlas, BAE Systems and Babcock Marine is approximately 70%, 26% and 4% respectively.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 217095, what progress his Department has made on deciding on the sourcing of the remaining 489 Scout Specialist Vehicles; when he expects a decision to be made; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: A review of the economic case to transfer vehicle assembly to the UK is currently in progress. A decision regarding the contract option on sourcing the remaining Scout Specialist Vehicles will be made later this year.

Russia: Military Aircraft

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what reports he has received of flights by Russian military aircraft over Lancashire; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: In accordance with the Open Skies Treaty, Russian military personnel, accompanied throughout by RAF personnel, conducted observation flights over the UK during the weeks of 11 May and 1 June 2015. The aircraft involved was unarmed and pre-certified by all Open Skies states. It flew on a flight plan authorised by the Ministry of Defence, in this case including over Lancashire, and the UK received copies of all photographs taken. The UK conducts similar missions in Russia.

*No heading*

Nigel Mills: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of support provided by his Department to the Army Cadet Force.

Mark Lancaster: Cadet organisations, including the Army Cadet Force, play an important part in the opportunities available to young people to develop skills and experiences alongside their education. The Ministry of Defence is pleased to support them and does so with over £150 million of funding each year. 100 new cadet units were established under the Cadet Expansion Programme in english schools during the last Parliament; along with a target to reach 500 cadet units in schools by 2020.

*No heading*

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that small and medium-sized manufacturers benefit from his Department's procurement of defence equipment.

Mr Philip Dunne: Small businesses provide an important source of innovation and flexibility in meeting defence requirements.The Department has a target to spend at least 15% of our equipment and support budget with small and medium-sized enterprises. But in 2013-14, I am pleased to confirm we exceeded this target, spending 19.4%: some £1 billion directly with SMEs, and £3 billion indirectly through the supply chain.

*No heading*

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to invest in new equipment for the armed forces.

Mr Philip Dunne: This Government was elected with a mandate to increase the equipment budget in real terms every year, and replace our four nuclear ballistic submarines. We are committed to spending over £160 billion on equipment and equipment support, which includes new strike fighters; surveillance aircraft; hunter killer submarines; two aircraft carriers; and the most advanced armoured vehicles. The Ministry of Defence also invests over £400 million annually in science to access cutting-edge technologies.

*No heading*

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the safety of the reactors in the SSBN fleet.

Michael Fallon: Safety is paramount and continuously assessed at every stage of a submarine reactor’s life, from design and build, through to operation and disposal. It is independently regulated in accordance with legislative requirements and by the Ministry of Defence’s independent nuclear regulator.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Local Government Finance

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of projected local government finance settlement spending for each of the next five years as (a) total expenditure and (b) a percentage of gross domestic product.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of projected local government finance settlement spending in the West Midlands in each of the next five years.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department has made no estimates of future local government expenditure. Local government spending will be dependent upon future Spending Reviews as well as on other decisions, for example on local taxes and fees and charges.

Local Government Boundary Commission for England

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will allow public representations or petitions to be received directly by the Local Government Boundary Commission.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Local Government Boundary Commission is a Parliamentary body independent of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Any representations or petitions about the Commission’s work should be made directly to the Commission.

Help to Buy Scheme

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people in each parliamentary constituency have benefitted from the Help to Buy scheme in each year since the launch of that scheme.

Brandon Lewis: This Government is committed to supporting people’s aspirations to own their own home. By 31 March 2015, almost 100,000 families have bought a home with the assistance of the Help to Buy schemes in the UK. Official statistics on Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme sales, at 31 March in England, broken down by constituency, local authority and postcode, is available at: www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-monthly-statistics Official statistics on Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee sales, at 31 March, broken down by constituency, local authority and postcode is available at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-buy-mortgage-guarantee-scheme-quarterly-statistics-october-2013-to-september-2014 Official statistics on Help to Buy: New Buy sales, at 31 March, broken down by local authority is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-monthly-statistics.  Figures are not available by constituency.

Housing: Foreign Nationals

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has a mechanism in place to monitor whether foreign buyers of UK property are occupants, landlords, UK business owners or absentee property investors.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the value of UK property sold to foreign buyers between 2010 and 2015.

Brandon Lewis: My Department does not monitor the purchases of property by foreign buyers. The housing market is at the heart of our long-term economic plan – getting homes built, creating new homeowners and delivering hundreds of thousands of jobs. Foreign investment is helping to deliver new housing for UK residents and supporting jobs and long-term economic growth. Following the financial crisis and subsequent recession, foreign investment in new housing has been helping to provide the finance needed to build homes. Without upfront investment from buyers, financiers would not have released the cash needed for development to go ahead, and building would have stalled. These new developments not only provide homes, they also unlock associated affordable housing development In 2013, Savills suggested in their report “Spotlight World in London” that international sales of newly built properties helped to finance 3,000 new affordable homes that may otherwise not have been built. In their report of July 2014, Savills estimate that “those buying an investment property from overseas only account for an estimated 7 per cent of all greater London residential transactions”.

Temporary Accommodation: Southwark

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) single-headed households, (b) households with children, (c) households with pensioners, (d) households where one or more person is employed and (e) households with a disabled member were placed in temporary accommodation by the London Borough of Southwark in the last 12 months.

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many households that were placed in temporary accommodation in the last 12 months by the London Borough of Southwark were housed (a) outside and (b) within that Borough.

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many households that were placed in temporary accommodation in the last 12 months by the London Borough of Southwark outside the London Borough of Southwark were households with dependent children.

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many households that were placed in temporary accommodation in the last 12 months by the London Borough of Southwark were permanently rehoused within that borough.

Mr Marcus Jones: 653 households were placed in temporary accommodation by Southwark council in 2014. No data is held centrally on the types of households being placed in temporary accommodation. In the calendar year 2014, 449 households left temporary accommodation in Southwark as a result of accepting an offer of accommodation, although no figures are held centrally as to whether the accommodation offered was within the Borough.

Adoption

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what analysis his Department has undertaken of the financial consequences for local authorities of the measures announced in the Education and Adoption Bill relating to (a) local authority adoption functions and (b) joint arrangements.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department will support the Department for Education in carrying out an assessment of the costs and savings to local government resulting from the adoption and joint arrangements measures in the Education and Adoption Bill.

Fire Services: Pensions

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the determination of 15 May 2015 of the Pensions Ombudsman with respect to the complaint by Mr W Milne against the Government Actuary's Department, what steps he is taking to ensure that other members of relevant pension schemes in the Fire and Rescue Service receive compensation awards consistent with that determination; and when he anticipates those awards will be made.

Mr Mark Francois: The Government accepts the Ombudsman’s determination in full and recognises that there are other individuals, including retired fire fighters, who are affected by the principles set out in this determination. The Government is working with pension administrators to identify affected individuals and ensure that appropriate payments are made as quickly as possible. This will take time, with thousands of historic records to consider. Those affected will receive updates through their pensions administrators.

Right to Buy Scheme

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the ability of housing associations to absorb the loss of rental income as a result of potential right to buy sales.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what impact assessment his Department has made of the proposed expansion of right to buy to housing association properties; and if he will place that assessment in the Library.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the extension of right to buy on the availability of affordable housing.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what impact assessment his Department has made of extending the right to buy scheme; and if he will place that assessment in the Library.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the extension of the right to buy to housing association tenants on housing benefit.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of the effect of the proposed extension of the right to buy policy on the credit ratings of housing associations.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of the effect of the proposed extension of the right to buy policy on the future building capacity of housing associations.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the Exchequer of extending the right to buy policy to housing association tenants.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of homelessness of the extension of right to buy to housing association tenants.

Brandon Lewis: The development of the policy is ongoing, and details will be set out in the impact assessment when the Housing Bill is published.

Right to Buy Scheme

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what legal advice his Department has received about the compulsory sale of housing association properties; and if he will place that advice in the Library.

Brandon Lewis: The Government, as any legal client, is entitled to privacy in its consultation with legal advisers. This is especially the case during the policy formulation process. The Government’s legal analysis surrounding the extension of the right to buy for housing association tenants will be explained when its legislative proposals are brought before the House.

Council Housing

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the average value is of local authority properties which are among the most expensive third of all properties of that type in their area.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the average value is of high-value council houses.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many local authority properties in each English region are among the most expensive third of all properties of that type in their area; and how many such homes become vacant each year by English region.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how his Department defines a high-value council house; and how many such homes became vacant in each English region in each of the last five years.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the sale of high-value local authority housing on the cost to the public purse of housing benefit.

Brandon Lewis: Through the Local Government Transparency Code we require all councils to be more transparent about the value of their social housing stock.The Department has not made an estimate of the number of the most expensive third of local authority properties that will become vacant each year.

HM Treasury

Taxation

Louise Haigh: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to tackle tax avoidance and tax evasion.

Mr David Gauke: The Government is relentless in its crackdown on tax avoidance and evasion, taking a range of action to prevent such behaviour at the outset, and to detect and counter it effectively where it persists.Since April 2010, the Government has invested more than £1 billion in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to strengthen their powers in tackling avoidance and evasion and have made more than 40 changes to tax law, closing down loopholes and introducing major reforms to the UK tax system. During the last Parliament, as a result of actions to tackle evasion, avoidance and non-compliance, HMRC are expected to have secured £100 billion in additional compliance revenue.The Government has committed to raising at least £5 billion from measures to tackle evasion, avoidance and aggressive planning within the tax system. We will announce further details at the Budget.

Treasury: Communication

Louise Haigh: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the annual cost of his Department's communications budget was in each year since 2010; and what such spending will be in 2015-16.

Harriett Baldwin: Communication with stakeholders and the public is a part of the job of all Treasury teams. The figures for 2014/15 were £1.773,235., a reduction of over a third of the 2009/10 spend.Details of expenditure for the financial years 2010-14 were provided in an answer on 26 March given to the hon member for North Durham (Kevan Jones). Details below: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-01-28/222595/

Revenue and Customs: Staff

Louise Haigh: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax inspectors were employed by his Department in each year since 2010.

Louise Haigh: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax inspectors were employed in Sheffield by HM Revenue and Customs in each year since 2010.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are forecasting to deliver over £15 billion additional revenue by the end of 2013/2014 – growth from £8 billion in 2011-12 and they have made significant reduction in its debt balance. In response to the two questions the number of HM Inspectors employed by HMRC since 2010 is as follows:  HM Inspectors employed in -HMRC HM Inspectors employed in Sheffield201026274302201125030288201225455319201327164465201427935493

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

Richard Burden: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the efficiency of call-handling by HM Revenue and Customs.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) constantly monitors call handling performance and assesses its quality. In 2014/15, our advisers achieved a score of 97.1% for correctness of transaction, against a 95% target.   HMRC also carries out a quarterly customer survey to determine how well we are performing against certain criteria. The results are published quarterly on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-plan-indicators

Revenue and Customs: Wales

Ian C. Lucas: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 23 March 2015 to Question 228104, what his Department's current plans are for reorganisation of HM Revenue and Customs in Wales.

Ian C. Lucas: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 23 March 2015 to Question 228104, what progress his Department has made on the consultation process Building our Future, on HM Revenue and Customs reorganisation.

Ian C. Lucas: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 23 March 2015 to Question 228104, what the outcomes have been of the conversations his Department has had with hon. Members and Welsh Assembly Members on HM Revenue and Customs reorganisation since October 2014.

Ian C. Lucas: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 23 March 2015 to Question 228104, on which occasions he or other representatives of his Department met staff from the Wrexham HM Revenue and Customs office to discuss the future of that office; and what the outcomes were of those meetings.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are continuing to discuss with their staff the locations of the future Regional Centres. They have however, told them how in-principle decisions will be made.   For Wales, HMRC has told staff that it believes that Cardiff is the most suitable location for a future Regional Centre in Wales, since it is already the biggest HMRC location in the country. However, no decisions have yet been made on the precise location or timing of a new HMRC Regional Centre in Cardiff or the nature and timing of impacts on other HMRC locations in Wales.   In October 2014, HMRC shared the main elements of the Building our Future vision with MPs and Assembly Members and HMRC has committed to keeping MPs and Assembly Members informed of the outcomes of these conversations.   All HMRC staff members are invited to participate in Building our Future events and staff choose which event and location they attend. Over 85% of Wrexham staff attended the last set of events.

UK Membership of EU

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will commission an independent audit of the economic costs and benefits of UK membership of the EU.

Mr David Gauke: The Government has a clear mandate to improve Britain’s relationship with the rest of the EU, and to reform the EU so that it creates jobs and increases living standards for all its citizens. The Government will hold an in/out referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU by the end of 2017.

Working Tax Credit: Overpayments

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consideration HM Revenue and Customs gave to the reputational risk of contracting to companies which are alleged to use aggressive debt collection techniques when it decided to outsource the collection of working tax credit overpayments to external debt collection agencies.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) takes great care to ensure that all debt pursuit is carried out appropriately and has worked closely with debt collection agencies on this for the last six years.  HMRC has developed a robust and in-depth programme of monitoring and assurance to safeguard standards of behaviour. This includes allowing debts to be paid by instalments and adherence to HMRC’s customer charter and industry best practice.

Prince of Wales: Income Tax

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to subject to income tax the income HRH The Prince of Wales receives from the Duchy of Cornwall.

Mr David Gauke: The Duchy of Cornwall is covered by Crown exemption. Since 1993, the Prince of Wales has voluntarily paid tax on income from the Duchy. The 2013 Memorandum of Understanding on Royal Taxation gives further details and is available on GOV.UK.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the time taken by HM Revenue and Customs to answer telephone calls from members of the public; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke: I refer my Honourable friend to the answers I gave 1 June 2015, UINs 4 and 13.

Transport for London: Contracts

Tom Brake: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Treasury has sought assurances from Transport for London that the invitation to tender for Bridge Design Consultancy Services (ITT reference: tfL/00711) was undertaken in a fair and transparent manner.

Greg Hands: It is for Transport for London to satisfy itself that any invitation to tender is compliant with relevant procurement legislation.

Edith Cavell: Commemorative Coins

Dan Jarvis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to ensure that the Edith Cavell commemorative coin recently issued by the Royal Mint can be purchased by members of the public at an affordable price.

Damian Hinds: Details regarding the Edith Cavell commemorative coin are available at the following link:   http://www.royalmint.com/aboutus/news/royal-mint-honours-edith-cavell.

Child Benefit: Warrington North

Helen Jones: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in Warrington North constituency are in receipt of child benefit for three or more children.

Damian Hinds: The information requested can be obtained from the Child Benefit Statistics Geographical Analysis August 2014 publication which is available on gov.uk.

FIFA: Money Laundering

Paul Flynn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of (a) HSBC, (b) Barclays and (c) Standard Chartered about allegations that their banks have been involved in money laundering by senior officials in world football administration.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK has a comprehensive anti-money laundering (AML) and counter financing of terrorism regime‎ and we are committed to ensuring our financial system is a hostile environment for illicit finances.   The Treasury is responsible for appointing AML supervisors, including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA is responsible for ensuring compliance of financial institutions (including HSBC, Barclays, and Standard Chartered) with their AML requirements.   The FCA is operationally independent from Government and carries out its functions within the framework of statutory objectives and duties agreed by Parliament.   The FCA is discussing with banks whether the FIFA episode has highlighted weaknesses in their AML systems and controls.

Royal Family: Taxation

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons (a) certain members of the Royal Family and (b) corporations owned by those members are not subject to income or corporation tax as a matter of law.

Mr David Gauke: The 2013 Memorandum of Understanding on Royal Taxation gives full details and is available on GOV.UK:   https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/memorandum-of-understanding-on-royal-taxation

Kids Company: Finance

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the children's charity Kids Company about the provision of long-term Government funding to that charity.

Greg Hands: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.   Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm.

Pensions

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to conduct research into the use of savers make of money withdrawn under the new pensions freedoms.

Harriett Baldwin: Due to the reforms announced at Budget 2014, individuals now have complete freedom to access and spend their defined contribution pension savings as they see fit.   All tax policy is kept under continuous review by the Government.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

Richard Burden: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 1 June 2015 to Question 4, what steps he is taking to increase the proportion of calls handled by HM Revenue and Customs' Contact Centre within five minutes.

Richard Burden: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 1 June 2015 to Question 4, what the reason was for the size of the reduction in the percentage of calls handled by HM Revenue and Customs contact centres within five minutes in the first two quarters of 2015.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) handles 50 million calls a year from customers. The department is working hard to improve its performance. The percentage of calls handled will fluctuate annually and quarterly and is directly affected by customer demand.   HMRC has taken a number of steps including the introduction of a new telephony platform that will improve performance in the longer term. HMRC has recruited more than 2,000 staff to its customer service teams and is expanding the resource available at evenings and weekends when many customers choose to call. They have also launched an online service for Tax Credit customers that will enable them to renew their claims without calling at all and, as in previous years, are moving up to 1,500 extra staff from across the department to support the Tax Credits peak in demand.

Church Commissioners

Clergy: Females

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, how many members of the clergy in each of the last 10 years have been women.

Mrs Caroline Spelman: The most recent statistics available on the number of women in ordained ministry in the Church of England can be found in the table below. These figures combine all clergy who are full time or part time stipendiary clergy and those who are self-supporting clergy. Although more recent figures are not yet available, the general trend is towards an increase in women training for ordained ministry and the Church of England has most recently appointed three women as bishops who are: The Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek,The Bishop of Stockport, Rt Revd Elizabeth Lane,And the Bishop of Hull, Rt Revd Alison White.   YearFemaleMale20123,6507,72520113,5757,84320103,5358,08720093,4018,25720083,4148,53120073,2688,64520063,1198,78520052,9868,93620042,6548,852

Clergy: LGBT People

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what statistics the Church Commissioners collect on the number of LGBT men and women in the clergy.

Mrs Caroline Spelman: The National Church Institutions of the Church of England do not maintain a record of the number of LGBT clergy.

Women and Equalities

Castes: Discrimination

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals in relation to caste discrimination in the UK.

Caroline Dinenage: This Government opposes caste discrimination. We are aware of the Employment Appeal Tribunal judgment in the case of Tirkey v Chandok which opens the possibility that a legal remedy for claims of caste-associated discrimination already exists under current legislation, namely the ethnic origins element of Section 9 of the Equality Act 2010. We are considering the implications of the judgment for discrimination law and specifically for the duty on caste in Section 9 (5) of the Act.

Department for Transport

Railway Stations: Horden

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the expected delivery date is for the completion of Horden Railway Station.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he taking to improve rail connectivity to major rail lines from in East Durham.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had on investment in the East Durham section of the coastal railway line between Sunderland and Hartlepool.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timescale is for the withdrawal of pacer trains from rail services in East Durham.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what level of investment his Department plans to make in rail services in East Durham over the next five years.

Andrew Jones: The construction of a new station at Horden is being promoted by Durham County Council and funded from the North East Local Enterprise Partnership Growth Deal. To date, no approval has been sought from the Secretary of State for its opening. The Department would expect the sponsors to work with the future Northern franchisee to develop a deliverable plan. The Invitation to Tender for the northern rail franchise, published in February 2015, confirmed that we would be asking bidders to replace the Pacer trains and introduce 120 new-build vehicles by January 2020. This is part of our transformation of rail travel in the north and a step in the creation of a northern powerhouse for the UK economy. The Government established Transport for the North (TfN) in October 2014 to formalise cooperation on transport issues in the North. The aim is for TfN to speak with one voice to Government on the transport priorities for the whole of the North. The Department is working closely with TfN and Rail North to develop and prioritise the rail options so that the first tranche is ready for consideration as part of the Government’s Rail Investment Strategy for the next rail investment period (CP6, 2019 – 2024). There is currently a two-hourly Northern service on the Middlesbrough-Sunderland-Newcastle route, with a couple of extra services. By December 2017, this will become an hourly service.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of qualified heavy goods vehicle drivers; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones: The Road Haulage Association estimates a current shortage of HGV drivers at around 45,000 and I am aware the shortage has put operational and financial pressures onto the industry. I have met industry representatives and discussed the issue.   Work continues on improving the accessibility of HGV driving tests in those areas where there are significant waits, in the context of recent increases in demand and a pass rate of about 54%. Discussions are continuing with industry and involving other government departments to improve recruitment and reduce administrative delays, including in respect of the costs of training, training effectiveness to achieve test passes and the attractiveness of the profession.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Keir Starmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the Government's response to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee's First Report of Session 2014-15, The Economics of High Speed 2, HL Paper 134.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government will respond to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee's report “The Economics of High Speed 2” shortly. We are confident the case for HS2 is robust and look forward to clarifying the issues the Committee has raised.

Railways: Standards

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has recently received a revised draft of the National Rail Conditions of Carriage from the Association of Train Operating Companies for his approval.

Claire Perry: The Department has received some proposed changes to the National Rail Conditions of Carriage from the Association of Train Operating Companies which we are now considering.

Network Rail: Public Appointments

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to make a decision on whether to appoint a Special Director to Network Rail's Board.

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Shareholder Executive's high-level Board effectiveness review of Network Rail has been completed; and if he will publish the conclusions of that review.

Mr Patrick McLoughlin: In the last Parliament, the Shareholder Executive conducted a high-level review of Network Rail’s governance which considered, among other things, the option of a Special Director being appointed to serve on the board. The review is part of advice for the ongoing formulation of government policy and therefore there are no plans to publish it. However I am considering all of its findings and will make any relevant decisions in due course.

High Speed Two

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish HS2 Ltd's jobs and skills strategy.

Mr Robert Goodwill: HS2 Ltd’s Jobs and Skills Strategy is scheduled to be published in the autumn.

Network Rail

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which projects the Department has committed to include in the Control Period 6 High Level Output Statement.

Claire Perry: No projects have been yet committed for inclusion in the Control Period 6 High Level Output Statement. The rail industry’s Initial Industry Plan for Control Period 6 is due to be published in September 2016, as a prelude to the High Level Output Statement in July 2017.

Gospel Oak-Barking Railway Line: Electrification

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of electrifying the Gospel Oak to Barking railway line; and what contribution his Department plans to make to that project.

Claire Perry: The Government has made no estimate of the cost of electrifying the Gospel Oak to Barking railway line. Network Rail will provide an estimate following formal sign-off of stage 3 of the Governance for Railway Investment Projects (‘GRIP’) process. The Department for Transport has allocated £90 million towards the project (2013 prices).

Network Rail

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 June 2015 to Question 161, what estimate his Department has made of the efficient cost of those Control Period 5 projects that have completed the enhancement cost adjustment mechanism process; and what the estimated cost was of those projects before they began that process.

Claire Perry: The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is responsible for determining the efficient cost of Network Rail’s CP5 enhancement schemes, not the Department for Transport. As explained in my previous response to the Honourable Member for Nottingham South, the ORR publishes quarterly updates on the enhancements cost adjustment mechanism (ECAM) process. This includes information about efficiencies identified on specific schemes through the ECAM process. For example, the ORR recently published ECAM findings on Reading Station area redevelopment, Great Western electrification and Midland Main Line electrification on its website: http://orr.gov.uk/what-and-how-we-regulate/regulation-of-network-rail/how-we-regulate-network-rail/control-period-5-cp5/cp5-delivery-plan.

Level Crossings

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Level Crossing Reform Action Plan.

Claire Perry: I can confirm that I have placed copies of the Department’s Level Crossing Reform Action Plan in the Libraries of both Houses.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Burma: Sexual Offences

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the government of Burma regarding implementation of the Declaration on Preventing Sexual Violence in the last six months; and at what levels these discussions took place.

Mr Hugo Swire: The then-Minister of State for the Home Office, Lynne Featherstone, visited Burma in January, in her role as UK Champion for Tackling Violence Against Women. She raised this issue with senior members of the Burmese government, including Ministers of the President’s Office, U Soe Thane and U Aung Min, and also with Deputy Foreign Minister U Thant Kyaw. In our efforts to promote UNSCR 1325 (on Women, Peace and Security) in Burma, in addition to high-level lobbying, the UK has encouraged women’s full participation in the peace process, supported the drafting of forthcoming legislation on violence against women, and funded work to increase women’s participation in the electoral process. We have supported access to justice for the survivors of sexual violence. As one of the largest humanitarian donors to Kachin and Rakhine states, we have funded the coordination of activities to prevent violence against women.

Egypt: Administration of Justice

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the workings and processes of the Egyptian government's judicial process.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The British Government recognises that those suspected of crimes must be held to account in fair trials which respect the rights of both the defendants and the victims. We remain concerned about judicial processes which result in mass sentences, and the questions that continue to be raised about the adherence to due process in Egypt's courts. These damage the reputation of Egypt’s judiciary and undermine international confidence in the fair application of the law.

Islamic State: Chemical Weapons

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure ISIL does not have access to chemical weapons.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Chemical Weapons Convention bans the development, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. We strongly support the Convention and its associated inspection regime and export controls.We continue to play a leading role in the international effort to dismantle the Syrian chemical weapons programme. All Syria's declared chemical weapons and their precursors have been removed from Syria and have been put beyond use or securely destroyed. I was particularly pleased that the UK took the exceptional step, with international partners, to destroy 200 tonnes of the declared Syrian chemical stockpile. The destruction of the final stage of these chemicals was verified by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on 28 May.We continue to work with international partners to defeat ISIL, whatever weapons they use.

Pakistan: Religious Freedom

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Pakistan on the issue of religious freedom (a) in relation to the case of Asia Bibi and (b) in general.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We remain concerned about the case of Asia Bibi and the court’s decision to uphold the imposition of the death penalty for blasphemy. We hope the verdict will be overturned at the next appeal. On 28 October 2014, I raised our concerns on Ms Bibi’s case with the Pakistan High Commissioner. On 5 December 2014 the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) stressed our concerns about Pakistan’s blasphemy law with Prime Minister Sharif. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), discussed Pakistan’s misuse of the blasphemy laws with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in November 2014.We continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to protect the human rights of all its citizens as laid down in the Constitution and in accordance with international standards.Our concerns about religious freedom in Pakistan are documented in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s annual Human Rights report and quarterly updates.

Tony Blair

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish details of each (a) meeting and (b) overnight stay by Tony Blair in each UK embassy in each year between 2010 and 2014.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The information requested is not held centrally and can only be collated at disproportionate costs.

Middle East

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the threat to the security of Israel from the cross-border tunnel system and the rocket arsenal Hezbollah has developed in southern Lebanon.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are concerned by continuing reports that Hizballah maintains a cross-border tunnel system in Southern Lebanon and significant stockpiles of missiles which could threaten Israel. These weapons are in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which mandates that “there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese state”. Following fighting which took place between Hizballah and the Israel Defence Forces in January, we have continued to urge all parties to cooperate with UN Interim Force in Lebanon in order to maintain calm along the border and to refrain from further provocative acts. We continue to monitor the situation closely.

EU Reform

Mr Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what role he plans to play in the UK's renegotiations on reforming the EU.

Mr David Lidington: The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), will lead on the renegotiations, working closely with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), and supported by myself and Cabinet colleagues. The Foreign Secretary and I are also responsible for the Referendum Bill. The Prime Minister has already started working with other leaders on how best to address the UK’s concerns and will hold further talks ahead of the June European Council.

Department for International Development

New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent reports she has received on the work of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition; what steps she is taking to ensure that the Alliance's work does not contribute to the takeover of land belonging to small farmers by multinational corporations; and what steps she is taking to ensure that the Alliance does not prioritise growing food for export over producing food to feed local people.

Grant Shapps: The New Alliance Leadership Council met on 2nd of June 2015. The UK attended this meeting and a progress report was discussed, agreed and will be published shortly on the New Alliance website. All parties investing under the New Alliance commit to support implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of land, fisheries and forests, which are international guidelines to make land investments transparent and accountable. Most of the investment commitments made under the New Alliance involve agribusiness investments downstream from the farm and are therefore not competing with small-scale farmers. Such investments are critical to create jobs and new markets for small-scale farmers, and to help African countries diversify out of primary commodity production. This will require investment and growth along the agricultural value chain rather than just investment in small-scale farmers’ food production.

Female Genital Mutilation

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support anti-FGM measures.

Justine Greening: The UK is a key supporter of the Africa-led movement to end Female Genital Mutilation. We have made the largest single donor commitment ever to this issue, with a flagship programme of £35 million over 5 years. In addition DFID is exploring what we can do in practising countries where we have bilateral programmes, including supporting efforts to end FGM in Sudan (which has a very high prevalence rate) through a £12m bilateral five year programme.  We also continue to work with others to increase international commitment to this neglected issue. DFID’s Girl Summit, held in July 2014, resulted in commitments to take action to end FGM and child, early and forced marriage (CEFM) from organisations, governments, businesses, communities and individuals across the world.

Nigeria: Female Genital Mutilation

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she plans to take to support the implementation of the ban on female genital mutilation in Nigeria.

Grant Shapps: The UK is committed to supporting efforts to end female genital mutilation both in the UK and across the globe. We welcome the passing of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Bill and its ban on female genital mutilation in Nigeria. DFID will work closely with the new Government on the implementation of this Bill. DFID is also supporting implementation at both federal and state levels.

Department for Education

Food Technology

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to promote in primary and secondary schools (a) participation in home economics by and (b) the catering industry as a career for boys.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Since the introduction of the new national curriculum for England, in September 2014, cooking and nutrition have been compulsory for both boys and girls from key stage 1 to key stage 3. Pupils can also take the new GCSE in food preparation and nutrition from September 2016. This qualification will be a valuable stepping stone for young people wishing to develop their skills, interests and career paths in food-related professions.   Our reforms to careers guidance in England are based on schools connecting pupils with employers, helping them to understand the breadth of career opportunities available. The new, independent Careers and Enterprise Company, announced by the Secretary of State for Education in December 2014, will help secondary schools to build these links. We also welcome the work of programmes such as Primary Futures, which help to broaden the aspirations of young people from an even earlier age.  Schools should consciously work to prevent all forms of stereotyping in the advice and guidance they provide in order to ensure that boys and girls from all backgrounds consider the widest possible range of careers. This is made clear in statutory guidance for schools, which underpins their careers duty.

Schools: WiFi

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has discussed or plans to discuss with her French counterpart the banning of wi-fi signals in nursery and primary schools in France; and if she will make a statement.

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has issued guidance to nursery and primary schools on the installation of wi-fi in classrooms.

Nick Gibb: The Secretary of State for Education has not discussed this matter with her French counterpart and no discussion is currently planned.   The Department for Educaiton has not issued guidance to nursery and primary schools on the installation of wi-fi in classrooms. The department provides advice to schools on health and safety, and it is for individual schools to decide whether or not to implement wi-fi technology in order to meet their needs. Public Health England leads on this issue and has advised that it sees no reason why schools should not use wi-fi equipment. Schools must take reasonable steps to ensure that staff and pupils are not exposed to health and safety risks by conducting a risk assessment and, if necessary, putting measures in place to minimise any known risk.

School Choice

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will revise the guidance offered to LEAs regarding the choices available to parents who seek a place for their child at both grammar and LEA schools.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education does not offer separate specific guidance to local authorities regarding the choices available for parents at grammar and local authority maintained schools.   The School Admissions Code provides that local authorities must offer information to parents regarding the choices of state-funded schools available in their local area, through their composite prospectus.

Academies: Lewisham

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what advice the Regional Schools Commissioner for the South East and South London gave to the Head Teacher Board on the statutory requirements on applications on behalf of federated schools for academy status in regulation 46 of the School Governance (Federations) (England) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/1035) before approving the Academy Orders Prendergast, Prendergast Vale  and Prendergast Ladywell Schools in Lewisham on 26 February 2015.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will amend her Department's Governors' handbook and the Academy Converter Checklist for Schools to better highlight the requirements of regulation 46 of the School Governance (Federations)(England) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/1035).

Edward Timpson: Academy Orders for Prendergast, Prendergast Vale and Prendergast Ladywell Schools were approved at the South East and South London Headteacher Board meeting on 26 February 2015. The Headteacher Board advises the Regional Schools Commissioner on the strength of all schools that apply to become academies.   It is for schools to ensure that they have complied with relevant requirements at the point that they make their application. We will amend the application form and update associated guidance to highlight the requirements of regulation 46 of the School Governance (Federations) (England) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/1035) for federated schools wishing to become academies.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to make additional mental health provision available through the education system to those aged under 18.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Schools and colleges have an important role to play in supporting the wellbeing and mental health of their students.   To help them do this effectively, we recently published a blueprint for school counselling services, which provides schools with practical, evidence-based advice informed by experts on how to deliver high-quality school based counselling. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416326/Counselling_in_schools_-240315.pdf.   At the same time, the PSHE Association published guidance, funded by the Department for Education, on providing age-appropriate teaching about mental health problems. This guidance can be found at: https://www.pshe-association.org.uk/news_detail.aspx?ID=1435. They will also be publishing a set of lesson plans spanning key stage 1 to key stage 4 which will be available for schools to use by September 2015.  We expect that schools will want to use these and other resources to develop the support that they provide. We will continue to work with the sector to look at what further information and support might be helpful.   We know that many schools already provide their pupils with support such as counselling and play an important role in enabling access to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). Teachers, however, are not mental health professionals and it is important that students can get swift access to specialist mental health support where needed. The recent ‘Future in Mind’ report set out our ambitions for improving care over the next five years, including on making better links between schools and specialist services. This report is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/414024/Childrens_Mental_Health.pdf.   We have also announced £1.25 billion of new funding over the next five years to treat 110,000 more children with mental health issues. To inform future practice, the Department for Education will be contributing £1.5 million in 2015-16 to a joint pilot with NHS England, which aims to improve knowledge of mental health issues and interventions, and facilitate better joint working between schools and CAMHS.

Modern Greek Language: GCE

Sir Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that Modern Greek continues to be available to students to study as A and AS-levels after 2017.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education is currently considering what further support and encouragement can be provided to awarding organisations to enable as wide a range of languages as possible to be maintained at GCSE and A level, including Modern Greek.   The government has been clear that it wants to see all pupils provided with the opportunity to take a core set of academic subjects, including modern foreign languages. The number of pupils entering for a modern language GCSE has increased by 20% since 2010 due to the introduction of the English Baccalaureate. There are considerable benefits to learning a second language and the government is keen to see the range of languages at GCSE and A level preserved. To this end, the Secretary of State for Education wrote to exam boards during the pre-election period in April to express her concern about their decision to stop awarding qualifications in some languages. She asked awarding organisations to work with Ofqual on the future of these qualifications and committed, if there is no further action, to launching a consultation on how best to secure the future of these qualifications.

Education and Adoption Bill

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish draft regulations defining coasting before the Second Reading of the Education and Adoption Bill.

Edward Timpson: We will publish draft regulations which define coasting schools in time to allow for parliamentary scrutiny.   We will also consult more widely on this definition in the summer.

Leader of the House

Members: Wales

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Leader of the House, what consultation he has carried out in Wales on the Government's proposal to change the role of hon. Members representing constituencies in Wales in the scrutiny of legislation.

Chris Grayling: The Government will bring forward its proposals for ‘English Votes for English Laws’ in this Parliamentary Session. They will reflect a great deal of careful consideration, building on the work undertaken by the former Leader of the House in the last Parliament. The proposals will complement the further devolution of powers and ensure fairness to all parts of the UK. It will be for Members of Parliament to have the final say on them.

House of Commons: Standing Orders

Paul Flynn: To ask the Leader of the House, if he will bring forward proposals to amend the standing orders of the House to allow hon. Members to read out the names of fallen soldiers on the floor of the House.

Chris Grayling: The House recognises the sacrifice of those killed in the service of their country in a range of ways. This includes honouring all those who have fallen by observing a period of silence when sitting on Armistice Day. The Prime Minister also remains committed to continuing to pay tribute to those who have died and been named by the Ministry of Defence. What individual Members are allowed to do on the floor of the House is largely a matter of practice and convention under the control of Mr Speaker. The Government has no plans to change the current procedures but we will keep it under review.

Speaker: Elections

Paul Flynn: To ask the Leader of the House, whether he plans to bring forward proposals to change the rules for the election of the Speaker.

Chris Grayling: There are no plans to bring forward proposals to change the rules for the election of the Speaker.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on commencing field trials for a cattle vaccine for bovine TB.

George Eustice: Before a decision can be made to make an investment in field trials, we need to be confident that we have an effective DIVA test (a TB test to differentiate infected from vaccinated animals). The work we have already done shows that the blood test DIVA is unlikely to be good enough, in that it will yield too many false positive results leading to slaughter of too many uninfected cattle. So we are now investing in the development of a more promising skin test DIVA.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the most recent update of the tentative timeline for possible use of a vaccine against bovine TB in the EU as set out by the EU Commissioners in January 2013.

George Eustice: In the comprehensive TB Strategy we commit to pursuing options to license a cattle vaccine by 2023, or sooner if possible, but the hurdles remain very high. The 10 years indicative timeline set out by the Commission was an indication of the timescale for allowing free movement of vaccinated cattle in the EU. It may be possible for vaccination to be used in the UK before then but we are still some way from that, given the need to develop an effective DIVA test (a TB test to differentiate infected from vaccinated animals) and, if we are successful in that, what would then inevitably be lengthy, wide-scale and expensive field trials.

Seals: Conservation

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will review the effectiveness and adequacy of current legislation on the protection and conservation of seals.

George Eustice: Seal conservation is a devolved issue so I can only respond with respect to England. Approximately 85% of the UK seal population is in Scotland and the Scottish government have their own legislation concerning the protection of seals.Seals in England are primarily protected by the Conservation of Seals Act 1970. Under this Act, it is an offence to take or kill common and grey seals out of season or to use certain methods to kill or take, unless permitted to do so by a licence issued under the Act.No licences have been issued for the culling of seals in England in the last five years.The Act also allows the Secretary of State to provide year round protection in any specified area. Such a ‘Conservation Order’ currently protects grey and common seals on the east coast of England. Given the distribution of seal populations in England, this Order has the net effect of providing year round protection for almost all common seals and the majority of grey seals in England.The Law Commission has carried out a review of wildlife law and will publish its final report this summer.

Seals

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the number of seals killed by the British fishing industry in the last 12 months.

George Eustice: Seal conservation is a devolved issue so I can only respond with respect to England. Approximately 85% of the UK seal population is in Scotland and the Scottish government have their own legislation concerning the protection of seals.No licences to cull seals, under the Seals Act 1970, have been issued in England since 2010.A ‘Conservation Order’ currently protects grey and common seals on the east coast of England. Given the distribution of seal populations in England, this Order has the net effect of providing year round protection for almost all common seals and the majority of grey seals in England.Fishermen are permitted to kill or take, without the need for a licence, to protect their fishing equipment or fish therein if the seal is in the vicinity of the equipment at that time.The Government has not made an assessment of the number of seals that may have been killed off the English coast.

Seals: Conservation

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to encourage the use of non-lethal seal deterrents on the coast.

George Eustice: Seal conservation is a devolved issue so I can only respond with respect to England. Approximately 85% of the UK seal population is in Scotland and the Scottish government have their own legislation concerning the protection of seals.Seals in England are primarily protected by the Conservation of Seals Act 1970. Under this Act, it is an offence to take or kill common and grey seals out of season or to use certain methods to kill or take, unless permitted to do so by a licence issued under the Act.Before an individual is granted a licence for the lethal control of any animal, including seals, they must first demonstrate that less severe alternatives have been exhausted or shown to be unworkable. Consequently, the existing arrangements already help to promote the use of non-lethal control.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many badgers have been culled; and what the cost to the public purse is of the badger cull.

George Eustice: The number of badgers culled in 2014 was 341 in Somerset and 274 in Gloucestershire.The costs for 2014 are still being collated and will be published in due course.Bovine TB threatens the future of our beef and dairy industries and is estimated to cost the taxpayer £1 billion over the next 10 years. This is why we will continue to pursue our comprehensive strategy to eradicate TB in England by 2038.

World Milk Day

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department took to celebrate World Milk Day on 1 June 2015.

George Eustice: Defra issued a number of supportive statements through social media to promote World Milk Day and highlight some of the key features of the UK milk industry, including the scale of UK production and the latest information on dairy exports. In particular, we celebrated the important contribution of UK dairying to the economy and as a key source of calcium in UK diets.

Dangerous Dogs

Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many deaths and injuries have been caused by prohibited animals which are (a) not on and (b) on the Index of Exempted Dogs in each of the last five years.

George Eustice: There are no records held on the numbers of deaths or injuries caused by dogs held on the Index of Exempted Dogs. However, annual statistics for the last full five years, published by the Health & Social Care Information Centre, on Counts of Finished Admission Episodes for dog bites and strikes is contained in the attached table (the figures should be read in conjunction with the footnotes to the table).   In addition, the number of people killed by dogs each year for the last full five years is as follows: 2010220110201232013420145   Counts of Finished Admission Episodes (FAEs)1 for dog bites and strikes2, 2009-10 to 2013-143   Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector YearFAEs2009-105,8372010-116,0052011-126,5802012-136,3172013-146,836 Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre   1. Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period. 2. External cause codes A supplementary code that indicates the nature of any external cause of injury, poisoning or other adverse effects. Only the first external cause code which is coded within the episode is counted in HES.   ICD-10 code used: W54 - Bitten or struck by dog   3. Assessing growth through time (Admitted patient care) HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. Conversely, apparent increases in activity may be due to improved recording of diagnosis or procedure information.Note that Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) include activity ending in the year in question and run from April to March, e.g. 2012-13 includes activity ending between 1st April 2012 and 31st March 2013.

Dogs: Tagging

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what preparations her Department is making to ensure that mandatory microchipping of dogs comes into effect in April 2016.

George Eustice: Regulations to require the compulsory microchipping of all dogs in England by 6 April 2016 came into force on 24 February 2015. Defra is working closely with a number of partners including veterinary organisations, animal welfare charities and others to promote the message on compulsory microchipping using a range of channels including social media and the websites www.chipmydog.org.uk and www.gov.uk.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Renewable Energy: Employment

Harry Harpham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many UK supply chain (a) jobs and (b) apprenticeships were created in the renewable energy sector in each year from 2009 to 2014.

Andrea Leadsom: Figures published by BIS in The Size and Performance of the UK Low Carbon Economy (March 2015) [1] report show that in 2013 the renewable energy sector (including both renewable heat and renewable electricity) supported around 168,400 jobs [2] in total, an increase of 31,000 from 2010. Table 1 details the number of jobs supported by the renewable energy sector, both directly and within the supply chain each year for 2010-2013. The equivalent information is not available for 2009 or 2014 or for the number of apprenticeships that have been created.   Table 1: Number of jobs supported by the renewable energy sector in the UK YearDirect jobsSupply chain/ indirect jobsTotal 201080,10057,300137,400 201189,60064,000153,500 201295,70068,300164,100 201398,20070,100168,400   [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416240/bis-15-206-size-and-performance-of-uk-low-carbon-economy.pdf [2]  This figure is derived from the following sectors: offshore wind, solar PV, hydroelectric energy, onshore wind, marine, energy generation from waste, biomass equipment, geothermal, heat pumps, solar thermal, heat networks, heat recovery and ventilation and alternative fuels. Alternative fuels category includes jobs in both renewable and non-renewable energy sectors.

Wind Power: Subsidies

Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to remove onshore wind turbine subsidies.

Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the removal of subsidies will extend to consented onshore turbines with grid connections not yet constructed; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: Plans to deliver our manifesto pledge to end new subsidies for onshore wind and to give local communities the final say on windfarm applications are being drawn up. The details, including on the scope of the subsidy restrictions, will be published shortly.

Natural Gas

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of OFGEM's plans to re-examine the current gas mains replacement programme on long term stability of gas supply in the UK.

Andrea Leadsom: It is for Ofgem, working with the Health and Safety Executive, to define the gas mains replacement programme. If Ofgem were to review this programme and to request DECC to enable changes, we would assess any relevant impacts at that time.

Renewable Energy: Wales

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans her Department has to sponsor alternative green energy projects in Wales in the next 12 months.

Andrea Leadsom: We know that Wales is experiencing benefits from green energy projects. Figures published by BIS in The Size and Performance of the UK Low Carbon Economy (March 2015) [1] report show that in 2013, 17,300 people were employed in the low carbon energy sectors in Wales.Figures published by DECC in the March 2015 update to Energy Trends [2] show that in 2014, Wales’ renewable electricity generation increased by 31%, and formed 5.4% of the UK’s total renewable electricity generation.In respect of the next 12 months, deployment timelines for specific projects are a commercial matter for developers. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416240/bis-15-206-size-and-performance-of-uk-low-carbon-economy.pdf[2]  https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/415976/ET_Mar_15.PDF

Energy: Meters

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the number of pre-pay gas and electricity meters installed in England, Wales and Scotland without the authority of the account holder in the last 12 months; if she will prohibit the installation of such pre-payment meters without such authority; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: Ofgem closely monitors domestic energy suppliers’ performance and publishes information in relation to debt owed by domestic electricity and gas accounts holders in Great Britain. In 2013, latest data available, a total of 299,784 electricity prepayment meters were installed in the year, of which 227,886 were installed to recover a debt. A total of 293,846 gas prepayment meters were installed in the year, of which 226,999 were installed to recover a debt. Ofgem’s data does not to show how many prepayment meters were installed without the authority of the account holder (under a warrant) or differentiate between installations in England, Scotland and Wales.The installation of prepayment meter is a valuable alternative to the disconnection of supply for debt. The need to apply to the courts for a warrant to enter a consumer’s home to install a prepayment meter should be an action of last resort after all attempts to communicate with the consumer have failed. Courts will require supply companies to provide details of the communication path followed as part of the warrant application process.

Wind Power

Sir Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will take steps to reduce the subsidies available to the promotion and construction of on-shore wind farms; and if she will bring forward proposals to ensure that local planning controls over such projects involve adequate consultation with local residents before consent is granted.

Andrea Leadsom: We are driving forward plans to deliver our manifesto pledge to end new subsidies for onshore wind and to give local communities the final say on windfarm applications as soon as possible. We will publish our plans and timetable for these changes shortly.

Attorney General

FIFA: Corruption

Clive Efford: To ask the Attorney General, what discussions (a) Ministers in his Department and (b) the Serious Fraud Office have had with (i) the Swiss authorities and (ii) the US Justice Department about the investigation of fraud, racketeering and money laundering at FIFA.

Robert Buckland: The Serious Fraud Office engages regularly with its overseas counterparts to discuss issues of mutual interest, but it is not appropriate to comment on such casework discussions as might take place. It is not the practice for the Law Officers to comment upon live investigations, or to confirm or deny that Ministerial discussions about particular cases have taken place.

Wales Office

Roads: Wales

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when (a) he and (b) his Department have made (i) oral and (ii) written representations to the Secretary of State for Transport on the time taken of work carried out at the A55/A493 junction.

Stephen Crabb: My office is in regular contact with Department for Transport and Highways England officials. I have made clear that I expect to see this issue resolved as soon as possible. Highways England has provided assurances that it is aiming to complete the project within the next four weeks.

Ministry of Justice

Northumberland Prison

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 18 March 2015 to Question 227319, for what reasons Sodexo has increased the number of mainstream prisoners housed with sex offenders in a one-house block.

Andrew Selous: Sex offenders at HM Prison Northumberland are accommodated separately from mainstream prisoners. On occasion, following a risk assessment, a vulnerable prisoner who is not a sex offender may be removed from the mainstream accommodation for his own protection and placed in the sex offender accommodation. Work is in progress to reduce the number of other vulnerable prisoners co-located with sex offenders.

Community Rehabilitation Companies: Redundancy

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what funding his Department allocated for enhanced redundancy schemes for community rehabilitation companies following the privatisation of probation services.

Andrew Selous: As part of the arrangements for the transfer of services from probation trusts to Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC’s), an enhanced Voluntary Redundancy Scheme was put in place, in line with the terms of the National Agreement on Staff Transfer and Protections agreed with the probation Trade Unions, and funded by monies from the Modernisation Fund to support a sustainable reduction in resource requirements. An initial wave of redundancies was made in advance of the letting of the contracts for the CRCs, and the remaining monies were transferred to the CRCs on a pro rata basis to be used for the same purpose. While we have no plans to reclaim any monies allocated to CRCs from the Modernisation Fund, we have robust contract management arrangements in place to ensure that they are used for the purposes for which they were provided. Contract management teams are in place in each Contract Package Area to oversee each CRC operation.

Sodexo: Finance

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much of the funding his Department allocated for enhanced redundancy schemes following the privatisation of probation services was allocated to Sodexo.

Andrew Selous: As part of the arrangements for the transfer of services from probation trusts to Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC’s), an enhanced Voluntary Redundancy Scheme was put in place, in line with the terms of the National Agreement on Staff Transfer and Protections agreed with the probation Trade Unions, and funded by monies from the Modernisation Fund to support a sustainable reduction in resource requirements. An initial wave of redundancies was made in advance of the letting of the contracts for the CRCs, and the remaining monies were transferred to the CRCs on a pro rata basis to be used for the same purpose. While we have no plans to reclaim any monies allocated to CRCs from the Modernisation Fund, we have robust contract management arrangements in place to ensure that they are used for the purposes for which they were provided. Contract management teams are in place in each Contract Package Area to oversee each CRC operation.

Probation: Redundancy

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department took to ensure that the funding allocated for enhanced redundancy schemes following the privatisation of probation services was used for that purpose.

Andrew Selous: As part of the arrangements for the transfer of services from probation trusts to Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC’s), an enhanced Voluntary Redundancy Scheme was put in place, in line with the terms of the National Agreement on Staff Transfer and Protections agreed with the probation Trade Unions, and funded by monies from the Modernisation Fund to support a sustainable reduction in resource requirements. An initial wave of redundancies was made in advance of the letting of the contracts for the CRCs, and the remaining monies were transferred to the CRCs on a pro rata basis to be used for the same purpose. While we have no plans to reclaim any monies allocated to CRCs from the Modernisation Fund, we have robust contract management arrangements in place to ensure that they are used for the purposes for which they were provided. Contract management teams are in place in each Contract Package Area to oversee each CRC operation.

Probation: Redundancy

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much of the funding allocated by his Department for enhanced redundancy schemes following the privatisation of probation services was allocated to each company receiving such funding.

Andrew Selous: As part of the arrangements for the transfer of services from probation trusts to Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC’s), an enhanced Voluntary Redundancy Scheme was put in place, in line with the terms of the National Agreement on Staff Transfer and Protections agreed with the probation Trade Unions, and funded by monies from the Modernisation Fund to support a sustainable reduction in resource requirements. An initial wave of redundancies was made in advance of the letting of the contracts for the CRCs, and the remaining monies were transferred to the CRCs on a pro rata basis to be used for the same purpose. While we have no plans to reclaim any monies allocated to CRCs from the Modernisation Fund, we have robust contract management arrangements in place to ensure that they are used for the purposes for which they were provided. Contract management teams are in place in each Contract Package Area to oversee each CRC operation.

Probation: Redundancy

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to reclaim any of the funding allocated by his Department for enhanced redundancy schemes following the privatisation of probation services which is not used for the intended purpose.

Andrew Selous: As part of the arrangements for the transfer of services from probation trusts to Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC’s), an enhanced Voluntary Redundancy Scheme was put in place, in line with the terms of the National Agreement on Staff Transfer and Protections agreed with the probation Trade Unions, and funded by monies from the Modernisation Fund to support a sustainable reduction in resource requirements. An initial wave of redundancies was made in advance of the letting of the contracts for the CRCs, and the remaining monies were transferred to the CRCs on a pro rata basis to be used for the same purpose. While we have no plans to reclaim any monies allocated to CRCs from the Modernisation Fund, we have robust contract management arrangements in place to ensure that they are used for the purposes for which they were provided. Contract management teams are in place in each Contract Package Area to oversee each CRC operation.

Human Rights

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on the introduction of a Bill of Rights to replace the Human Rights Act 1998.

Dominic Raab: The Government was elected with a mandate to reform and modernise the UK human rights framework. The UK has a proud tradition of respect for human rights which long pre-dates the 1998 Human Rights Act. The 1998 Act opened the system to abuse, which has damaged the credibility of human rights. We will bring forward proposals for a British Bill of Rights, which will replace the Human Rights Act. Our Bill will protect fundamental human rights, but also prevent their abuse and restore common sense to the system. We will fully consult on our proposals before introducing legislation.

Crime: Victims

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to publish legislative proposals to increase the rights of victims of crime.

Mike Penning: We will publish draft clauses in due course.

Youth Offending Teams

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to publish his Department's stocktake on the work of youth offending teams.

Andrew Selous: The Ministry of Justice is considering the findings of the YOT stock take.

Essex Community Rehabilitation Company

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions (a) he, (b) Ministers of his Department and (c) officials of his Department have had with the Chief Executive of the Essex Community Rehabilitation Company; and if he will make a statement.

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) chief executives, (b) deputy chief executives and (c) assistant chief officers of community rehabilitation companies have left their post since 1 January 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on how many safety officers are employed by Essex Community Rehabilitation Company to help (a) female and (b) male victims of domestic violence.

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the salary was of the (a) Chief Executive and (b) Chairman of Essex Community Rehabilitation Company in 2014; what each such salary will be in 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department has (a) issued and (b) plans to issue on the use of agency staff at the Probation Service.

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department (i) have had since January 2015 and (ii) plan to have in the next six months with the Chief Executive of the Essex Community Rehabilitation Company; and if he will make a statement.

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the budgeted annual expenditure is of the Essex Community Rehabilitation Company for this financial year; and if he will make a statement.

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance on recruitment of officials (a) he, (b) Ministers of his Department and (c) officials of his Department (i) have issued since January 2015 and (ii) plan to issue within the next six months to Essex Community Rehabilitation Company; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Selous: On 1 February 2015, ownership of the 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) transitioned to new providers. CRCs are now separate, private entities, contracted by the Department to provide specific services and as such are responsible for determining their budgets, staffing levels and staff salaries. As they are autonomous organisations, the MoJ no longer holds details of their budgeted annual expenditure. In terms of staffing, while CRCs are contractually required to have sufficient suitably qualified and competent staff, they are responsible for determining their own staffing levels and recruitment. No Chief Executives and only a small number of staff at Paybands A-D left their CRC posts during January 2015 while CRCs were still under public ownership. Since 1 February 2015, staffing has been a matter for CRC owners. The Department has not issued guidance to CRCs on recruitment. Following the transfer of ownership in February 2015, staff remuneration is now a matter for CRC providers. The salary of the Chief Executive of Essex CRC during the period 1 June 2014 to 31 January 2015 was in the range £90,000-£95,000. The governance structure of the Community Rehabilitation Companies did not include a position of Chairman during that period. The National Probation Service (NPS) may use agency staff to fill business-critical posts and essential frontline services where they can provide a fast, flexible and efficient way to obtain necessary skills that are not currently available in-house. The Department has issued a range of guidance (for example Probation Instructions) on the use of agency staff by the National Probation Service. Since January 2015, official discussions continue with CRCs as part of the contract management process. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly.

Cabinet Office

Think Tanks

Paul Flynn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require think tanks to disclose their sources of funding.

John Penrose: Think tanks carrying on the business of consultant lobbying are already subject to the provisions of Part 1 of the Transparency of Lobbying Act 2014 and the activities of any think tank acting as a third party campaign group are already subject to the rules in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 so the Government has no plans to legislate further in this area.

Cannabis: Death

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people have died from the effects of consuming skunk cannabis in the UK in each of the last five years.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Skunk Cannabis Death
(PDF Document, 119.69 KB)

General Election 2015: Scotland

Paul Flynn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the Government was of the inquiry into the leaking of a memorandum relating to the First Minister of Scotland during the General Election campaign.

Matthew Hancock: The inquiry into this leak was conducted by serving Cabinet Office officials responsible for security and propriety matters; it was carried out within existing resources and no additional costs were incurred.

Iraq Committee of Inquiry

Paul Flynn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what date he expects the report of the Chilcot inquiry to be published.

Matthew Hancock: I refer the hon. Member to answer given by My Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister on 4 June 2015 to UIN 556.

Asthma: Death

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 3 March 2015 to Question 225989, how many people (a) under the age of 18 and (b) aged 18 or over died as a result of asthma in England and Wales in 2014.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Death from Asthma
(PDF Document, 68.67 KB)

Unfair Dismissal

Justin Madders: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of people who have been dismissed after 12 and 24 months' continuous service since the qualifying period for claiming unfair dismissal was increased to two years.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Unfair Dismissal
(PDF Document, 63.25 KB)

Kids Company: Finance

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much financial assistance the Government has given to the children's charity Kids Company since its creation.

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what government funding to the children's charity Kids Company will be for the financial year 2016-17.

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what government funding was provided to the children's charity Kids Company in financial years (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the children's charity Kids Company about the provision of long-term government funding to that charity.

Mr Rob Wilson: The Government has given funding to Kids Company for a number of years across different administrations. The table below outlines the funding from 2007 onwards. YEARAMOUNT PAID2007 / 08£3.52m2008 / 09£4.35m2009 / 10£4.48m2010 / 11£4.66m2011 / 12£4.85m2012 / 13£4.69m2013 / 14£4.5m£1m£0.25m  2014 / 15£4.5m.£1m2015/16£4.265m   No decision has been taken regarding the 2016 budget. Kids Company has asked for, and has had, a number of discussions about its long term funding.

Cabinet Office: Families

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prime Minister's press release of 18 August 2014, what steps he is taking to assess the impact of his Department's policies on the family.

Mr Oliver Letwin: The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014, through the publication of guidance for officials - which can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368894/family-test-guidance.pdfThe objective of the Test is to introduce a family perspective to the policy making process, specifically to make the potential impacts on family functioning and relationships explicit.The Cabinet Office is working with the Department for Work and Pensions, and other government departments, to embed the Test in the policymaking process.

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Tourism

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to promote tourism and develop the tourism industry in England.

Tracey Crouch: The GREAT Britain campaign continues to promote great British holidays at home, through the 'Holidays at Home' are GREAT campaign, and overseas. In its first 3 years of operation, it is estimated that the campaign has now generated £520.6 million in incremental spend for the domestic tourism industry and over two million domestic overnight holiday trips. It is anticipated that Visit Britain's GREAT activity will help generate an extra £305 million in incremental spend by inbound visitors (2012/13-2013/14).We are also encouraging travel outside of London through the visa-waiver scheme for Chinese tourists, and our £10 million tourism in the North and £5 million tourism in the South West funds, which aim to create joined-up strategies for promoting these areas as top holiday destinations for international travellers.

FIFA: Corruption

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had discussions with the Attorney General regarding allegations of corruption at FIFA.

Tracey Crouch: My Right Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has spoken with the Attorney General. They agreed that the British authorities will offer full co-operation with American and Swiss investigators, and that if any evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the UK emerges, we will fully the support the Serious Fraud Office and other relevant authorities in pursuing those involved.

ICT: EU Action

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with content creators about the European Commission's Digital Single Market proposals.

Mr Edward Vaizey: I have regular discussions with content creators on a range of matters. The UK wants the EU to create an open, flexible digital single market with a regulatory framework that reflects the dynamic nature of the digital economy, benefits consumers and protects the interests of content creators.

Tickets: Sales

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure that tickets for the Rugby World Cup and Ashes cricket tests are sold at face value in the secondary ticketing market.

Tracey Crouch: The Government believes that prices should be set by supply and demand in the secondary ticketing market. The measures set out in the Consumer Right Act 2015, which came into force on 27 May, will enable consumers to make an informed decision on the tickets they purchase. The Government encourages all fans to look to official primary and secondary sites, such as the 2015 Rugby World Cup’s official resale platform, for the safest and most secure method of buying tickets at face value.

Tickets: Sales

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to monitor the effect of the secondary ticketing market on the cost of attending major sporting events.

Tracey Crouch: The Consumer Rights Act 2015, contains provisions for an independent statutory review of the consumer protection measures in the secondary ticketing market. It will be independently led and it will be presented to Parliament within a year of commencement.

ICT: EU Action

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent representations his Department has made to the European Commission on its Digital Single Market proposals.

Mr Edward Vaizey: I have regular discussions with the EU Commissioners on a range of matters. The UK wants the EU to create an open, flexible digital single market with a regulatory framework that reflects the dynamic nature of the digital economy.

Aerials: Construction

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many masts have been built by the Mobile Infrastructure Project; and how much his Department has spent on that project.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Mobile Infrastructure Project has completed the build of four masts, which are now live. These masts are located in North Yorkshire, Devon, Dorset and Somerset. The Department has spent £5,561,241.80 on the project.

FIFA: Corruption

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to investigate whether any bribery related to the FIFA allegations took place within the UK's jurisdiction.

Tracey Crouch: The charges laid by the Department of Justice of the United States of America relate to allegations of wrongdoing by FIFA officials in the USA. Should any further information come to light of FIFA related bribery in the United Kingdom, the case could be investigated and prosecuted in the UK.

National Lottery

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to make the allocation of funding by the National Lottery more open and transparent.

Tracey Crouch: The National Lottery etc. Act 1993 sets out clearly the four good causes that the lottery supports and the precise proportions of funding which each of the 12 Lottery distribution bodies receive. Government requires each distributor to make their guidance on how to apply for grant funding, and their policies for the appraisal of applications, widely available to the public, ensuring their decisions are open and transparent.

Broadband: Business Premises

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of premises (a) has access to and (b) is using superfast broadband; what the total number of premises is; and what proportion of that total has been provided with access to superfast broadband under the Government's rollout programme.

Mr Edward Vaizey: (a) Ofcom's Infrastructure Report 2014 http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/market-data/infrastructure/infrastructure-2014/ suggested that in June 2014 about 78% of UK premises had access to NGA services and about 75% had access to superfast services at 30Mbit/s or above. That figure is now likely to be above 80%. (b) Ofcom's UK fixed-line broadband performance report http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/other/telecoms-research/broadband-speeds/broadband-speeds-november2014/ stated that 32% of UK residential broadband connections had a headline speed of ‘up to’ 30Mbit/s or higher in November 2014. Not all residential premises take any fixed broadband service. DCMS is not responsible for statistics on the numbers of UK residential and non-residential premises, but for modelling purposes uses a total figure of about 29 million. The DCMS Broadband Performance Indicators https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/broadband-performance-indicators stated that 2,411,395 premises had a superfast broadband service (above 24 Mbit/s download) made available by the end of March 2015 as a result of BDUK-supported projects. With further rollout since March, that figure will now exceed 2.5 million.

House of Commons Commission

Members: Travel

Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the hon. Member for Mole Valley representing the House of Commons Commission, what proportion of hon. Members travel from their constituency address to the House in (a) less than one hour, (b) more than one but less than two hours, (c) more than two but less than three hours, (d) more than three but less than four hours and (e) more than four hours.

Sir Paul Beresford: The House does not collect information on which it could base an answer to this question. Responsibility for repayment of Members’ costs for travel between their constituencies and Westminster transferred to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority in 2010.